Painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder is now taking the plane too

This year, the honour is going to the Flemish renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (° ± 1525 - † 1569), to mark the 450th anniversary of his passing. Other exponents of our national pride who came before him were, in order, comic book hero Tintin, surrealist artist René Magritte, football legends the Red Devils, world-famous outdoor dance event Tomorrowland and the Smurfs (also comic book characters).

The Brussels artists Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys created the design for an Airbus A320 that will serve as part of Brussels Airlines' European network until 2024. The 37-metre-long aircraft was painted by hand over a period of 19 days with scenes and details from ten of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's works, including Children's Games and The Harvesters.

The choice of Bruegel is in keeping with the theme of Flemish Masters, through which Tourism Flanders aims to draw art lovers to the region.